Harry Potter and The Mask of Death
by rex41e
Summary: Set immediately after the events of Deathly Hallows. Lord Voldemort has been defeated and Harry returns to Hogwarts for his Seventh Year. The wizarding world is rebuilding themselves under the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. But a few Death E
1. Chapter 1

**_The Sarah Murphy™ is trademark of Casca. Author of Seeking Ginny._**

**_Harry's dream sequence at the beginning of this fic is taken from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by Author J.K. Rowling._**

**_Special Thanks and Love go to my beta Kas. Thanks for bringing my work to life. You are truly amazing._**

THE SURVIVORS

The sun was shining brightly over the castle grounds as Harry adjusted his position while sleeping in the four-poster bed. In his dream he was circling Lord Voldemort, their wands drawn and their eyes locked together.

"_You dare – "_

"Yes, I dare," said Harry. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some before you make another big mistake?"

"Is it love again? Dumbledore's favourite solution, love…" said Voldemort. "If it's not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine."

"I believe both."

"But what does it matter?" Voldemort said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: we duel on skill alone…"

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

"_Expelliarmus!"_

Two bolts of light collided in the great hall, one green and one red, and at the same instant the green bolt rebounded and hit its caster square in the chest. He fell in slow motion, his hands spread apart on the floor. Voldemort was no more.

Harry woke up with a start and stared at his surroundings. He was in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He knew because of the four-poster bed he was lying on, and because Ron's trademark snores could be heard coming from the corner of the room.

He got up and slowly crept out of the room, not wanting to disturb the others. Apart from Ron and himself, Neville and Dean were also asleep in the dormitory. The only person apparently missing was Seamus Finnigan. He remembered casting a shield in front of Seamus to protect to him from Voldemort, but a rebounding curse must have hit him from somewhere. He wondered why he was thinking such things. It was only then he remembered yesterday's battle against Voldemort.

A tight knot formed in Harry's stomach as he remembered his dream and the events of yesterday's battle. Voldemort had finally been defeated, but he'd made sure he'd scared the people who'd survived. So many had lost their lives yesterday, so many families had been torn apart. Harry crept down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. There he saw George looking out the windows and into the school grounds. Not wanting to face him, he tried to sneak past and suddenly bumped into Angelina coming through the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Hi Harry," she said. "You all right?"

"Yeah I'm okay, you?"

"I'm okay, just taking these to George,' she said, holding the two cups of hot chocolate in front of her.

"Oh, see you around then."

He went out of the common room and descended down the stairs heading towards the Great Hall.

He started thinking about George and Fred. The pair had been inseparable. He thought about the times they'd played Quidditch, the times they'd mocked Ron, and the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop had been going so well. Fred had even forgiven Percy for being such a huge prat. They were brothers after all. But now he was gone, there was no more Fred. No more twins, just George. He was going to miss getting their names mixed up.

He remembered meeting Fred on the train platform like it was yesterday. He had accepted him into his family, and had been willing give up his life for him. Come to think of it, the whole Weasley family had readily given up their lives to ensure his protection. He knew he was forever in debt to them, they had taken him as one of their own, and now they had paid the price: they had lost one of their sons, all because of him.

"But it's all over now…" a small voice said in his head. "Voldemort's gone, you defeated him."

He shook his head a little and stopped halfway down the stairs he was descending. There he sat as the stairs rotated from one landing to the other. His thoughts filled with the people who had decided to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. More than fifty people had lost their lives yesterday. Fifty people!

Tonks and Lupin had been amongst them. Damn! Tonks had just had a baby boy. Now he was going to be raised as an orphan, another child whose parents had been taken away from him by Voldemort, another child who would have to grow up to learn that his parents could not be there to comfort him, to show him love, to blow out the candles with him on his first birthday cake.

Harry buried his face into his hands, and he suddenly felt a huge hole appear in his heart. He had never liked Zacharias Smith: he had often felt Smith was a bit proud and pompous. After all, he was running ahead of the first years to escape, but had in the long run to fight against the Death Eaters. Colin Creevey wasn't even of age, but he had also stayed to fight, and now both he and Zachariahs were dead. He let the emotions rise in him as streams of tears flooded from his eyes. He sat there for minutes or even hours, he wasn't sure how long, but he sat there, the stairs swinging from one side to the other until he was ready to go down into the Great Hall.

As soon as he entered, the whole hall went silent. There was a moment of complete stillness, and then the whole hall erupted into cheers, shouts and cries of joy. He would have traded all the gold in Gringotts to be anywhere else as people stood, bowing and clapping their hands.

He wanted to tell them to stop, that it was okay, that there was no need for them idolise him anymore, that he had only played his part in the prophecy. But before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall pulled him towards the huge oak doors leading to the entrance, simultaneously ushering the crowd to be silent and continue eating. She held his hands as they walked through the castle grounds towards the lake.

"I'm so proud of you, Harry," she said, blinking back tears. "You've been through so much…Oh, Harry!" she said again, pulling him into a tight hug. Releasing him, she cleared her throat and quickly wiped at her eyes.

"I want you to know that you, Miss Granger, and Mr Weasley are welcome to return to Hogwarts to complete your seventh year."

Harry smiled at her abrupt return to her brisk, snappish manner.

"So Hogwarts will reopen?" he asked, looking at McGonagall and then at the castle. The stairs leading to the entrance courtyard and Great Hall lay in ruins, there were huge mounds of earth where the giants had fought Grawp last night, trees looked felled in the Forbidden Forest and a part of the castle looked like it was tilting.

"It will be rebuilt," she said, as if she was reading his mind. "Kingsley promised that the re-construction of Hogwarts will be the Ministry's top priority."

Harry smiled and looked beyond the lake, at the part of Hagrid's cabin that was visible over the treetops. He sure wasn't going to miss a chance to return to his first true home. The only place he had really belonged. He gave Professor McGonagall a smile and accepted her offer, saying he would gladly return to finish his seventh year.

He walked back to the doors leading to the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall, both of them silent and lost in their own thoughts. Harry was thinking of the million things he had to tell Ginny. Now that the war was over, there was no excuse for him not to be with her. There was no one to fear, and there was no fear that she might be trapped or used against him.

He was free, she was free, and it was over.

It was really over. No more Death Eaters, no more Voldemort, no more waiting for terrible news from the _Daily Prophet _and, best of all, no more pain from his scar. He absent-mindedly slid his hand under his hair and touched his scar.

"I'll leave you now, there are things I need to attend to," said Professor McGonagall, her voice breaking into his thoughts. He simply nodded and she walked away towards the Headmistress's office.

Harry walked back into the Great Hall. To his relief there were fewer people. He walked over to the Gryffindor table where Ron and Hermione were seated. Ron had his hands on her waist and she was leaning on his shoulder. He looked at them for a moment and smiled. It had taken the events of yesterday's war to finally get them to appreciate their feelings, and now they were sitting there, holding each other like lovers who had been together for centuries.

At least some good had come out of the war.

As he approached they turned to him, oblivious to the fact that everyone else in the hall had stopped to look, and sat down.

"Hey. Where have you been?" asked Hermione.

"Having a talk with Professor McGonagall," Harry replied, helping himself to some rice pudding. Ron was too busy with his mouthful to reply. All he could do was nod to acknowledge Harry's presence.

"She says we're invited to return to Hogwarts to finish our seventh year if we want."

"Great!" Hermione said. "You told her we'd love to, right?"

"Err…Yeah, I did – "

"'Ot! 'Fter all we 'ave don!" exclaimed Ron, bits of food flying everywhere. Taking a hard swallow he continued. "We don't need school, we should be inducted into the ministry and given Orders of Merlin, I mean, seriously - "

"Oh, shut up, Ron! Harry, you're glad to return to school, aren't you?"

Harry didn't need to be told that they were dragging him into one of their pointless arguments again. Some things, it seemed, were never going to change. His two best friends had stuck with him until the very end, risked their lives for him, and fought with him. Now they had found love together, but it seemed like their endless bickering would never stop.

He suddenly looked down at the golden goblet he was using to drink his pumpkin juice, feigning interest to avoid being dragged into the argument that was still going on between Ron and Hermione. It had the Hogwarts insignia on one side and the Gryffindors' on the other. He wondered whether the other houses had insignias on their plates and goblets and, if they did, what would happen if he were to stand up and switch them. How would the house-elves react?

He was suddenly distracted by a flock of owls flying into the Great Hall.

They landed on different tables, delivering their post to the correct recipients. He was sure the news of Voldemort's defeat was only just beginning to reach every nook and cranny of the wizarding world. To his surprise, however, he was shocked to see half a dozen owls heading in his direction. Before he knew it, letters were pouring into his lap, onto his pudding, and onto the table.

"Gee Harry – I never knew you had so many fans."

"Thanks, Neville," Harry said dryly as Neville took a seat at the table opposite him. "Help me open these, will you?"

They spent the next few minutes reading letters from various wizards and witches, most of them expressing how grateful they were for the Dark Lord's defeat.

He also received a few letters from children who said he was their favourite hero. Many of them asked for his autograph so they could boast to their friends. A few letters, however, were completely off trail.

"Would you look at this, Harry?" Ron exclaimed, holding a picture of a middle-aged witch. She had her back facing the picture and was doing some sort of unimaginable twist, managing to pull her robes above her waist to expose her behind. Her letter contained graphic descriptions of just what she wanted to do to Harry lest she ever meet him. Ron read the letter over Harry's shoulder and whistled.

"Bottoms like that and any guy…" He stopped suddenly as Hermione shot him a scorching look. Before he knew it, the picture had suddenly burst into flames. Hermione dropped her wand back into her robes as Ron yelped. Harry laughed with Neville and the others on the Gryffindor table.

His eyes suddenly caught Hermione's, who were looking at something behind him in surprise.

"What?" he asked, turning his head sharply to see what she looking at.

It was Cho Chang. He'd almost forgotten that she was here, and that she'd answered Neville's call to the DA, fighting in the battle yesterday.

"Hi Harry," she said, flushing a shade of deep pink.

"Hi, Cho… err…Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah…I s'pose…Can I talk to you real quick? I mean – away from here." She glanced coldly at Hermione as she spoke the last words, and the two girls shared a look of mutual dislike.

"Sure." He turned to Ron and Hermione. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Hermione was about to protest, when Ron shook his head to silence her. She began whispering into his ear, but he shook his head again adamantly as Cho led Harry towards the door to trophy room.

----

Ron woke up and looked around him, remembering he was in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. He mind trailed back to the events of yesterday and he sat upright, thinking about Voldemort's defeat. It was finally over.

Then he thought about Fred and his heart ached.

The twins had always been a source of inspiration to him, although he would rather kiss a gnome than let them know. He always looked up to them, and they never disappointed him when it came to their mischief. He remembered the stunts they'd pulled in his fifth year when they tortured Umbridge. That was a great laugh – the swamp, he had no idea how they'd even thought of it, let alone created it. They were geniuses. And now they were forever separated, Fred was no more. He was going to miss their synchronised way of talking. He was going to miss Fred. He didn't think anything would ever be able to take away the hurt he was feeling.

Somewhere in the depths of his thoughts he saw a face with bushy hair. She was smiling at him.

He had finally come to terms with his feelings for Hermione. He gave a little grin. If there was something good about this war, it was that it had brought a little love to everyone's lives. He felt like a prat for having to wait until they were right in the middle of a war for him to express his true feelings, but happy nonetheless.

He went down into the common room to find Angelina and Fred talking.

No – of course it wasn't Fred. It was George she was talking to. For that fraction of second there had been a slight hope, a slight possibility, that it was all in his imagination, that Fred had survived and there he was- talking to Angelina. He simply nodded at George and said hi to Angelina, sitting in one of the armchairs near the fireplace. He was just about to head down to the Great Hall when Hermione came downstairs from the girls' dormitories.

She looked around the common room and smiled. Moving towards him first, she gave him a quick kiss before joining George and Angelina. From the corner of his eye, he could see George raise an eyebrow at the sight of the kiss.

At least his brother still had a sense of humour.

He got up from the chair a few minutes later and motioned to Hermione that he was going down for lunch. She bade farewell to George and Angelina and joined him. When they climbed out the portrait hole she grabbed his hands and pulled him to face her. Suddenly, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek before heading down to the stairs to the great hall.

----

Hermione woke up in the girls' dormitory and sat up in her poster bed, looking around. She had a headache and it had nothing to do with the fact that she'd been sleeping or had a nightmare. She looked around grudgingly- even the day after a war of epic proportions, she still wasn't a morning person. Yawning, she headed to the bathrooms to take a shower. Inside she heard Lavender Brown talking to someone else across the cubicle.

"I know, but it hurts me that Ron never talked to me about anything."

"Oh, give up on him already, Lavender! He was no good for you anyway, we both know that."

There was a huge sigh and Lavender said, "I think he likes know-it-all Granger."

"I would expect so. Who does she like? Is she with Harry or Ron or both of them?"

Hermione listened in shock as the girls continued to gossip. How foolish could they be? She stepped out of the bathroom and re-entered with an obviously exaggerated bang. She slipped off her sleeping dress and stepped into the shower. It sent warm water down her body, each sprinkle taking her pains and washing them away. Several seconds later she noticed the two girls had stopped talking and were taking their own baths in silence.

Her mind drifted to yesterday. She couldn't help thinking about the Elder Wand and the Deathly Hallows - they'd been a fairy tale, and yet, they'd been real. Harry was right all along. She'd had the answers all the time, but had chosen not to believe. Harry had even told her that Dumbledore had counted on her to slow him down, and it had worked. It had allowed Harry to master the Hallows. She remembered how Ron had come up with the idea to retrieve the Basilisk fangs and how he had thought of using parseltounge to open the chamber. He really was amazing sometimes.

Her thoughts churned in her head as the warm spray continued to shower her body. Once down in the chamber, she and Ron had tried to use the Basilisk's fangs to pierce the Horcrux. Little did she know how difficult it would turn out to be.

She had lifted the fang high into the air and brought it down in a swift arc. The cup had cracked on the first impact, and a faint mist rose from its surface. She hesitated for a moment.

It was a moment too long.

The figures slowly transformed into her parents.

"You have failed us Hermione. We're pretty disappointed in you, sugar teeth," the mist said with the dreamy, yet terrifying, voice of her dad.

"Hermione, no! Don't listen to it!" Ron said as she took a step backwards, away from the figures. "Stab it, it's only trying to confuse you! Those aren't your parents!"

She lifted her hands again, tears in her eyes, and walked towards the cup. She paused as the figures of her parents transformed into McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"You have failed, Miss Granger." The Dumbledore figure spoke. "You have failed Harry and Ron. Voldemort has won, you were not smart enough…"

"Stab it! Hermione – "

"You're not even a witch, you're definitely not worthy to carry magic in your veins." The McGonagall figure spoke.

"S-S-She's right," Hermione stuttered as she broke down and sank to the floor, tears pouring down her face.

"No! You're not Hermione, you're not, we got this far because we all worked hard together. You're the one who worked out the Beedle book, you figured out the swords importance, you came up with the ideas for infiltrating the Ministry, and you saved our lives with your spells. You're the most intelligent witch I know." He moved closer towards her.

"Do it for us all. For yourself, your parents, for Harry. _Do it_ _for me_…"

Ron's last words finally sank in, and for a moment she was scared. She didn't want to use him as her resolve.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and rose shakily to her feet. Raising the fang high over her head again, she stabbed the cup fiercely, concentrating all her terror into that one blow. It shattered completely, breaking into pieces.

The mist, which had already began to shape into another figure, let out a high-pitched scream and vanished. Her mind was a little fuzzy on the details, but she remembered Ron holding her in an embrace and trying to comfort her.

The banks that held her feelings for him were at their bursting point. She felt his heart beating against her body, and slowly her rhythm matched his. She wanted him to touch her, she wanted to feel his lips and have him pour his heart out to her. Before she knew it, she called his name with a soft moan.

"Err…Let's get going… Harry – the others…" She could hear the embarrassment in her voice- she hadn't expected her feelings to get the better of her at that particular moment. She noticed his disappointment as they left the chamber on the broom he had brought down with them: she tried not to associate it with the fact that they had almost shared a moment.

"It's because he saw me so weak, he thinks I'm weak, as always," she told herself. But when he mentioned saving the house elves, she saw something in him. She didn't know how she had always missed it, but here it was: in the middle of a war, he still cared about the things he knew she cared about. There was no other time, now was the right moment. With that line of thought, she leapt at him, feeling the need, the urge, to be in his arms again- the urge to feel him.

It was now or never.

He was taken aback by the kiss, but he soon found himself and kissed her back.

It was beautiful, like nothing she'd ever felt before. He lifted her up, and for that moment nothing mattered. Nothing- not the Death Eaters, the war, the Horcruxes. All that mattered was Ron, and the way he was kissing her.

Her thoughts broke off and she realised she had been in the shower for nearly forty minutes.

"_Finite,_" she murmured to the shower as she stepped out to dry herself and get dressed. A few minutes later, she walked out of the dorm room and into the Gryffindor common room. She saw Ron sitting on the sofa all by himself. Suddenly she remembered him quoting her on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, and a quick smile spread across her face. She planted a kiss on him before joining Angelina and George in their conversation. A few minutes later she followed a hungry Ron out of the common room down into the Great Hall.

----

Ginny woke up, gave a tireless yawn, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Looking over at her table, she picked up her watch. It was four thirty in the afternoon. She couldn't believe she had slept through lunch. She looked up as a feminine figure approached her bed from the other side of the room and pulled the curtains from her bed. It was her best friend Sarah Murphy.

"Thank god you're awake! I was getting ready to leave you and go have some lunch."

"I thought lunch would be over by now."

"No, no it's a whole day of feasting. There's too much to celebrate."

Ginny was just about to ask Sarah what she was talking about when she remembered the events of yesterday. Voldemort had been defeated, and his Death Eaters destroyed. She remembered seeing her life flash before her very eyes as Bellatrix sent a killing curse her way. She remembered thinking about lots of things, actually – things she was going to miss, things she had never done, things she had always said she would try to do.

Harry.

She remembered telling herself that she wouldn't be there to hug Harry when the fight was over, she wouldn't be there to run into his arms. Throwing caution to the wind as there would be nothing else. He wouldn't need to go and save the world anymore. She didn't know how she'd managed to get out of the way.

She told herself it was the thought of never seeing her family again, the thought of another girl nursing Harry's wounds after the battle, making him forget about her, the girl who had always loved him, the girl who had always waited for him.

_No!_ she shrieked as she barely escaped death. She wouldn't allow it.

"Ginny! You're taking forever!" Sarah called from the Gryffindor's sixth year bedroom. "Hurry up!"

"All right, all right, I'm coming."

Emerging from the stairs, her eyes drifted over to Angelina, who was sitting on the couch, a man with bright red hair ensconced in her lap. It took Ginny a moment to comprehend that the man was George.

Moving closer, Ginny realised that he was asleep, his head on her shoulder, his face pale. Ginny reflected that it was probably the first time he'd slept since Fred had…

She swallowed hard, blinking back the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. Glancing up, she saw Angelina looking at her squarely. Ginny fixed her with a gaze.

_Take care of him for me,_ her eyes said silently. _Please, don't let me lose another brother._

Angelina nodded slightly. "I will," she said softly.

Ginny smiled slightly and returned the nod. Forcing herself to turn away, she headed out of the portrait hole and downstairs, Sarah by her side.

----

Harry tried to look anywhere but into Cho's eyes, but she was making him very uncomfortable. He could hear the tears in her voice.

Why was she telling him all this now? Why couldn't she see things between them were over, that they had never really been that serious in the first place? What was it with war and people realising how much they needed each other?

But he felt like he needed to say something, something to console her. He couldn't handle crying girls, he never could. And he knew Cho well enough to know that there were tears very close to the surface. But still – he had to tell her the truth – there _was _no them. There was only room for one girl in his heart and that girl was Ginny.

"Cho…err… listen… don't get me wrong," he started awkwardly.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I want us to be together."

"Err…It's not like – "

"No Harry, I know you're angry at me, but I cared for you all through, praying that you would be okay and now nothing can keep us apart!" Her speech was pressured and shrill, as if she had been building to this moment for months.

"I was…" he began again, but she cut him off.

"I love you Harry. _I really do love you._" She said the last part in such a low voice that it was barely audible over the noise he was hearing in the Great Hall. He stared at Cho in shock.

----

Ginny and Sarah entered the Great Hall, and automatically moved towards the Gryffindor table.

Not that it could be called the Gryffindor table anymore, seeing as though people had just sat wherever they pleased yesterday, Ginny reflected. Still, after six years of sitting at a particular table, you kind of got attached. Old habits died hard, she guessed.

They spotted two of their fellow sixth years that and moved towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two people disappear behind the door leading to the trophy room. She sat down, grinning at Ron and Hermione, who were seated on the far right with Neville with a dozen of letters scattered in front of them.

She had only just poured herself some pumpkin juice and started filling her plate when a disturbing thought occurred to her. She sprang up so fast that she startled Sarah, her goblet tipping over and spilling its contents everywhere.

Her eye caught Hermione's, and suddenly knew that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. Hermione started to shake her head silently but she didn't let that stop her. That had been Harry going into the trophy room. With a girl.

Only it wasn't just any girl- it was Cho Chang. She could never forget that black hair and smooth body of hers, the body that Harry had been so attracted to.

"Where's Harry?" She directed her question to Hermione, who was seated a few places away. Hermione blushed scarlet.

"I – he – is…" she spluttered.

"That was him with Cho, wasn't it?" Ginny asked, but she didn't need Hermione's confirmation. She started running towards the trophy room, Hermione calling to her. But she had no time to reply.

He was in there with Cho. With _Cho_!

Merlin help him.

By the time she was done with him, he'd wish Voldemort had killed him.

----

Harry turned his head back and blinked for a second in shock, realising that Cho was so close to him now that he could see the moisture on her lips.

She stepped forward and he stepped back, desperate to put some distance between them. He felt so awkward that he was immensely grateful as he heard the trophy room door swing open behind him. He took another step closer to the exit so he could see who was running down the spiral stairs into the room, but as he turned his head back to Cho she grabbed him, her lips seeking his, desperate that the person coming down the stairs would interrupt the moment she was supposed to be having.

Harry was shocked by the kiss. Almost instantly he pulled back from a struggling Cho, and she looked dismayed. He looked up in time to see a flash of red hair whip out of sight, and the sound of sobs reached his ears. He felt his heart plummet to the soles of his shoes.

Ginny.

It took him a moment to realise that there was still someone standing at the foot of the stairs, their arms folded tightly, their face set in a grim line. Looking upwards into the face, he realised that he had never seen Hermione so angry before.

**_Authors Note:_ **

_I searched and searched for Ginny's best friend but couldn't find anyone in the novels. So I decided to use Sarah Murphy. She was created by one of my favourite fanfic authors Casca (Author of Seeking Ginny, Her character perfectly blends with the kind of best friend I wanted Ginny to have in my novel so I decided to borrow her. Credit and thanks go to Casca for creating such a wonderful character._

_Writing Ron's character in the beginning was hard because I was trying to understand how he would feel after Fred's death, and I realised he really does have the emotional range of a teaspoon. So I just went creative about it. I'm a first time writer so pleeeaaasseee! review... Thanks. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Special thanks once again go to Kas. Thanks for your patience, it's extremely appreciated.**

_Harry Potter™, Ron Weasley™, Hermione Granger™ and Ginny Weasley™ are trademarks of J.K Rowlings, Bloomsbury and the WB. All rights reserved. Hogwarts™ and all the other characters and locations used in this Novel are trademarks to J.K. Rowlings, Bloomsbury and WB. No money is being made from this publication so no copyright is being infringed. This is just for fun! _

THE FAMOUS WIZARD

Ginny Weasley ran out of the castle into the grounds. She could not believe what she had just seen. Her mind had to be playing tricks. She had not just seen Harry kissing Cho. She ran until she got to the tree by the lake, but upon getting there she realised her mistake. This had been their spot. Harry and her used to come here back during her fifth year.

She kicked the tree angrily as if it was the one causing her grief and rubbed her toes where it had hurt, she took a seat at the base of the trees and pulled her knees to her face. Everything was starting to hurt again, she warped her arms around her tightly, so tight that she might have hugged herself to death. A numb feeling was coming over her and the lake ahead of her was starting to look very inviting.

For a moment she considered plunging into the lake and swimming down into the deepest darkest depths of the lake and just stay there, but she knew it would do her no good. She would leave her family behind, and there had been too much deaths of recent. She wouldn't want to add to the toll.

Then why was she feeling like this. Why did it feel like the whole world was tearing apart? Why did she feel so hollow?

"WHY?" She screamed.

She buried her head into her knees as tears welled down her face. This was too much to take in. She had waited for Harry for nearly all her life, but it had all been in vain.

"Get over yourself Ginny." She murmured to herself. Now that the war was over, Harry deserved to be happy, and if Cho was the one who made him happy then so be it. The least she could do was be happy for him and support him as a friend.

"Ginny, Ginny, Ginevra!"

Ginny rose her face and looked towards the figure that was approaching her. She would have wished to be alone at the moment, as a matter of fact she wanted to be alone, but she also wanted someone to hold her, comfort her and tell her she had just been seeing things.

"Ginny are you alright? What's wrong? Oh Ginny…!" Sarah stopped as she looked at Ginny's face and realised that she had been crying.

"Talk to me Gin, What's wrong?"

"I'm ok." Ginny replied. She tried to smile but the smile did not reach her eyes.

"Nonsense Gin, you're not, talk to me"

"I said I am fine Sarah." She snapped.

Sarah winced at her words and looked away. Slowly she got up started walking away when Ginny reached out and grabbed her.

"I'm sorry for snapping, I'm just so confused at the moment"

"It's ok, if you really don't want to talk about it, then its fine"

"No I do want to talk about it." Ginny said tearfully, "It's just that I don't know where to begin."

"It's ok Gin, I'm here for you, and you know you can talk to me right?"

Ginny sighed, and said. "I saw Harry kissing Cho."

"No way Gin, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

She shook her head and wondered if she had indeed seen Harry kissing Cho? Maybe she was seeing things after all. She sighed as Sarah pulled her into a hug and comforted her. It was what she needed right now.

"It's ok Gin, he does love you and you know that."

"I know Sarah, but I am so confused, we haven't even spoken to each other since he left, No owls, nothing, even a howler would have been enough. It's not that I am selfish, but I just expected to be the first to talk to him, you know, the person he was going to reach out to."

"I know how you feel Gin, but don't you feel that you are overreacting? I mean what if it wasn't what it looked like? Talk to him and find out what happened."

Ginny closed her eyes for a few moments and tried to think things through. She sat under the tree for what seemed like hours with Sarah, before they decided to return to the castle. She decided to confront Harry, she loved him and as Sarah had told her when they were sitting by the tree there was a logical explanation for what happened, so she was willing to give him a chance to explain himself.

She clenched her jaw as she thought of Cho and decided maybe it was the former Ravenclaw girl that was going to earn her wrath.

Harry stood in front of Hermione as she headed in Cho's direction. He knew the impending fight was going to be almost unstoppable but he had no choice. Seeing Hermione this angry scared him as he had no idea what she was capable of.

"What do you think you are doing Cho?" Hermione started.

Cho started to look annoyed by the obvious intrusion, and was about to respond.

"Hermione wait-" Harry started but was cut off by Hermione

"You, Harry Potter! Don't even get me started with you right now, just don't. What in Merlin's bloody name do you think you are doing?" She shrilled.

Harry stood there open mouthed for a split second. Hermione had just swore, she never swore, surely Ron must be getting to her, but still she never swore.

"It's not what you think it is-" Harry started, but was cut off by Hermione again.

"Upstairs now, Get upstairs now! I need to have a talk with Cho, GO!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice as he left the trophy room. He felt like such a coward for leaving both girls downstairs but even he himself knew better than to be involved in a catfight.

He's mind trailed back to Ginny and he felt his heart drop as he thought of her witnessing the kiss Cho had just forced him into, he had been looking forward to seeing her all day, all he wanted to do was just spend some time with her and wrap his hands around her. He needed to find her fast.

He raced upstairs past a puzzled looking Ron towards the Gryffindor tower, only pausing to give the fat lady the password. He found the common room.

"Just great!" He muttered to himself, he walked over to the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory and pondered how he was going to get up there, he thought about summoning his firebolt and flying up the staircase but that seemed like a very daft idea. He decided to give running up a shot. He put a foot on the steps and started running up. For a moment he seemed successful and he couldn't help but grin, but he's triumph turned into doom as the steps turned into a slid and he came crashing all the way down setting off the alarms in the process.

Harry swore like he had never before, making a couple of sixth year girls that just came down look at him with disgust.

"Where is Ginny? Is she up? I need to see her." Harry said ignoring the looks the girls where giving him.

The two girls lingered for a while deciding which one of them will handle the task of going to look to for Ginny.

"Now, please – this is important." Harry Moaned.

One of the girls' finally went up and returned a short time later.

"She hasn't been up since she went for lunch"

Harry groaned, if she wasn't in her dorm then she could be anywhere in the castle. He was about to give up when he remembered he had the marauders map. He sprinted up to his dorm and retrieved the map, and came back into the common room to meet a very confused Ron.

"Harry what's going on?" Ron asked

"Err… Ron I can't explain now, I have got to go find Ginny"

"She ran past me, what did you do?"

"Oh!" said Harry

"You messed her up?" Ron asked hotly.

"No I didn't, look things got out of hands with Cho." Harry said. He's temper starting to rise.

"Then why all the fuss, I knew you would want to talk to Cho and sort things out between the two of you, but why does my sister have to be involved again"

"What's that supposed to mean"

Ron was about to responded, but Hermione walked into the room looking ready to murder someone. Ron was about to speak again but she held her hand up silence him.

"Honestly Harry what is wrong with you?"

"It wasn't like that, I wouldn't kiss Cho and you know that."

"You kissed Cho?"

"Why did you agree to speak with her in the first place" Hermione continued ignoring Ron.

"She wanted to talk, what was I supposed to do?"

"Oh! I don't know Harry, how about tell her you were busy or you didn't feel like talking, do you have any idea how much you have just hurt Ginny?"

"I told you not to mess my sister up?"

"I did not do anything on purpose" Harry was really upset now, not only could he not find Ginny and explain what happened, Hermione and Ron were giving him a hard time.

"Look I'm going to look for Ginny, if you two are done."

Harry stormed out of the common room before either of them could reply. Things were not going the way he was imaging. Here he was, he had just defeated Voldemort, and surely you would expect things to go right, but no, it seemed like things were just bound to keep getting worse.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said as he opened up the marauders map and scanned for the little dot that was Ginny. He found her alongside Sarah. They were walking into the castle from the grounds.

He quickly made his way to the entrance door and found Ginny sulking with Sarah. Even in her state it struck him at just how beautiful she was. Her hair was not in its usual ponytail but it was let down. The sun seemed to radiate of it as the golden rays filled each strand of hair with beauty.

He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. If at all he didn't have a reason to live after battling with Voldemort, seeing Ginny like this was a good enough reason.

She looked up at him and all the time seemed to stop. She had a hurt look on her face and it crushed his heart.

"Hi Gin." He said.

She didn't respond, but merely looked at him as if he was a rare plant that was being studied in herbology. Interesting but yet freighting.

"Err… Ginny I need to speak to you." He said this time a lot louder, thinking maybe she hadn't heard him the first time.

This time she did respond, but only after Sarah had poked her in the ribs.

"Yeah sure… Sarah could you…"

"Sure thing Gin, I'll meet you at the common room."

"So where do you want to talk?"

"How about we take a stroll to our usual spot?"

She nodded as Harry led her by hand towards the lake. Harry tried to think of all what he had to say to her, all what he had been waiting to say to her for the past few months that he was out hunting the Horcruxes, he had so much but he didn't even know where to begin.

They came to the tree by the lake and Ginny sat down, her back facing the castle. Harry tried to gather his words, but he seemed speechless. He didn't know where to begin, he had rehearsed the speech every night in his dreams, he had replayed this same scenario so many times, but all it had taken was Cho to make the day go bad.

"You know, when I went into the forest to find Voldemort, before I received the killing curse, you were the last thing I thought about."

He heard a small gasp escape from Ginny. But that was all. It was one of the things that he admired about her, the way she knew when and how to be strong.

"During the search for the Horcruxes, I used to watch over you every night, I used to stare at your dot on the Marauders map, watch you as went for classes, even as you served detention, although…" He said with an amused chuckle "You seemed to have had more detentions than classes."

Ginny laughed. "Is that an attempt to get on my good side potter?"

"Is it working?"

"I don't know. You just have to keep on trying." She said with a smirk.

"Ginny." Harry started seriously and she looked up him with the same blazing look she had given him that first time in the common room. It was a look that could move mountains and stop oceans.

"I don't really know how to say this, but you should know that I do care about you, and my feelings for you haven't changed. What happened with Cho wasn't intentional, I thought she wanted to talk, but _she_ kissed me, not me kissing her, I didn't return the kiss."

He avoided looking at her as he rambled on, he wasn't sure he was going to see looking at her, and the last thing he wanted to see was the legendary Weasley temper. It was legendary for a reason. Few people lived to tell the tale.

"I know I'm rambling, but I need you to understand how much you mean to me, and how much I really do care for you."

This time he met her eyes and looked their very brown depths holding her gaze.

"Ginny I love you."

Her eyes widened a little, but there was almost no betrayal of emotion showing on her face.

"It's my love for you that kept me going, I know I'm going to be unnecessary famous and there is going to be so much unwanted attention thrown at me, plus there will be a couple of girls throwing themselves at me, but I need you to know that you already have that _special_ place in my heart."

This time thou, emotion washed all over Ginny's face as she flushed and parted her lips. She looked like a kid who had just set her eyes on a very large bag filled with honeydukes finest sweets.

"Gin you…" She placed her fingers over his mouth, silencing him. She looked deep into his eyes and kissed him.

I was a kiss like never before.

It was a kiss of ownership, it was a kiss of love, it was a kiss of joy, a kiss of relief, a kiss of wanting and yet a kiss of satisfaction. His mind seemed to explode as her tongue found he's and sent into him a world full of pleasure. He leaned against her and pressed her back to the tree.

A soft moan escaped her, and it made Harry's heart beat a little faster. The rate at which they were going, it wasn't going to be long before they crossed the boundaries. He knew he had to stop, but yet he couldn't bring himself to.

He found his hand crawling up her robes looking and searching like a Niffler looking for treasure. It seemed to dance for joy as it encased the small mound on Ginny's chest. His brain shot him messages, telling his hand stop but that seemed fruitless.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and it made Harry and Ginny jump apart from each other, both trying to straighten their outfits and hair.

"I wish I did not just see that"

Harry turned a bright shade of red while Ginny had a look on face that could kill, Ron however seemed to have sensed her fury and kept his face to the sky.

"Honestly Ron, that's what you get for intruding. Harry we just came to make sure you and Ginny are alright."

"It's ok Hermione, we're ok,"

"Yes." Ginny replied, shooting Ron a pointed look. "We are ok now."

"Ok I guess we'll be going back to the castle then."

"No it's a good day, why don't we all sit out and enjoy the day."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked sceptically.

"Yes sure." Ginny said.

A while later the four of them had found comfortable spots on the ground, talking about the war, and filling Ginny in on the things they did.

"So there really is a dragon guarding the vaults at Gringotts, and I though the twins were pulling my legs when they said that." Ginny said.

"No they weren't lying, just wish things were kind of different thou." Ron replied sadly.

Hermione sensing the impending sadness spoke up.

"I plan to go to Australia this summer…"

"What!" Ron exclaimed, the Twins forgotten.

"I need to bring my parents home."

"Oh!" Ron replied, looking a lot sadder than before.

"We talked about this Ron."

"I just didn't think it was going to be so soon."

"Do you know exactly where they are?" Ginny asked.

"Yes and no. I kind of sent them to Adelaide, it's the fifth city in Australia. It's got a population of about 1.1 million people and there are festivals held there every season, it's also got churches everywhere hence the name _city of churches, _but I'm guessing they will be in a suburb close to Mount Lofty."

"So you plan to go find them alone in the midst of 1 million people? Mental you are Hermione!" Ron replied, then added as an afterthought "By the way what is a surburp?"

"Suburb Ron, honestly I can always find them, that is what the Locator spell is there for and because I was the one that hid them, I will always find them and a suburb is a residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town."

"We can always come along, you know, that will help narrow things down a bit."

"Thanks Harry but this is something I need to do on my own, you understand right-."

Harry nodded.

"-Ron"

Ron looked up into the sky, he did not like to think of Hermione going alone on her own, and he knew he was being selfish, but he had a right to be selfish.

What was she even trying to prove going alone, he was going to ask her, and then what ever noble reason she gave him, he was going to shoot it down and insist that that he came along with her.

"How long are you staying anyway?" he found himself asking.

"Don't know, as long as it takes, don't worry Ron, I'll be back."

Harry looked away, not wanting to be caught in the middle of another row. He caught Ginny's eye and she looked like she was fighting back a snort. He tried to look away from her so he wouldn't get infected with whatever that was trying making laugh but it was too late as he saw the source. Ron and Hermione were looking into each other's eye and they looked like they were about a second away from kissing, Ginny mimicked vomiting as Harry snorted which he covered up by quickly turning it into a cough.

Ron looked up at Harry and sent a rude hand gesture his way while Hermione flushed.

"So-" Hermione said, recovering from her love stricken look, what will you do over the holidays Harry?

Harry never thought about what he might do after defeating Voldemort. Now that he thought about it, his life had always revolved around Voldemort and the prophecy.

"I don't know, I mean I'm not going back to the Dursleys' that's for sure, but I don't know, maybe I might go back to Grimauld place."

"I think that's a good idea Harry." Ginny said.

"Merlin knows that place needs some redecorating."

"But Mom is going to want to you to come over to the burrow, she wouldn't want you living on your own, you know."

"No I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Harry Potter you great prat. How would you be a bother?"

"I'm not sure I agree with you on that one Ginny, for one part both of you will be in the house together. I need to live up to my responsibilities as a big brother you know."

Ginny slapped Ron playfully on the hands and said. "Ignore him Harry, you wouldn't be a bother and Mom will really want you around."

Harry smiled as Ron tried outline the conditions of which Harry would have to stay at the burrow. Voldemort was finally gone, and life was free. Sure there had been loses but it was time for a new start. And there was nothing better than having the ones you loved help rebuild the things that were lost.

Their conversations took different turns for the rest of the day as the sun set, spreading its golden showers across the sky, one last time for the day.

The world was finally Voldemort free.

**_Authors Note:_**

_Thanks __**insanityismytrademark**__ and __**Joanna11**__ for your reviews, they are very much appreciated. I will try and be like some very very good authors who update once a week, I'm not as good as that and I do have Uni and Work to keep up with. For those who haven't reviewed please do so, there is nothing better than being told you are doing an amazing job or you are doing an awful job. Seriously every review counts. Thanks, hope you enjoyed this chapter. _


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